Three strikes!

Had a great weekend of scouting, but all I did was eliminate places where there was no elk. Went out 3 different times to 3 different locations, and no elk. Still got some good wheeler rides in, and some good hikes.

Glassing down into Prater Canyon. Nothing there yet, but probably will be when my hunt starts.

Dad and I went on a good hike up Pelican Canyon on Saturday night, and did find a few fresh elk rubs.

This is what is all about anyway, right. Getting out with family, and enjoying the outdoors. Only 18 days to go!

30 days to go!

Holy Crap its getting close! So much to do, so little time.


Here are some pictures that Trevor Gadd took with his trail cam this last weekend. Its another pretty decent bull. Gets me even more excited.



Check out the fronts on this guy!



There is velvet hanging off of his main beam on the right side. The rut is getting close!

There is rumor of another bull that is pushing 390, but nobody will share pictures of it. The archery hunt starts on Saturday, so it will be interesting to see how things start off.

Fun Saturday

I know I should be scouting, but when I get a text from my neighbor that he wants to go to the lake I just cant resist!


Parker and Max body surfing!!



They loved it!!



Braxton liked body surfing on the bare foot pole better than behind the boat.

We went to Gunnison reservoir, and ran into Jason with his ward having a party, so we invited them to come try surfing.
Jason and I decided we now need a new boat!




Craig Black and I body surfing! So much fun!



Thanks Dave, it was a blast!

My first 5K

Well, I decided that I needed to get into better shape for this elk hunt. So I stated running every other day. I kind of slacked off to much during May and June, but picked it back up in July. I have been feeling pretty good so I decided to try my first 5K race. It was the annual Gary's shoes 5K.



I did better than I thought I would. I finished 3rd in my age division, and ran a 9 minute mile. It was actually pretty fun. I wasn't thinking that as I crossed the finish line, and I probably wont be saying that in the morning, but I am glad I pushed myself to do it.



“The miracle isn’t that I finished. The miracle is that I had the courage to start.” – John Bingham

Wet weekend!

Well, I made it up this weekend for my first real serious scouting trip. Overall it was a success, but I ended up getting pretty wet and cold on Saturday morning. I only saw two bulls. One big 5x6 and a small rag horn 4 point. I did get a couple good long hikes in, and saw some beautiful country. Everything is so green up there right now. It doesn't feel like August.

Here are a few pictures of how pretty is was. We have had a pretty wet summer so far.

This one is looking down into what us Rappleye's like to call EVERYWHERE'S. Dad and Jason you know what I mean!!!

This picture is my favorite. Just before I took this picture I saw 3 great big bucks running away from me. It is exciting to see deer that size on Fishlake. I didn't think there were deer that big left.

This picture is me hiding under a forest service kiosk waiting out the storm. I was approximately 2 miles from the 4 wheeler when this fast moving summer thunderstorm moved in. It actually got a little scary. There was lighting flashing all around me! 11,700' above sea level, and out in the open is not a good place to be in a storm like that.

I got pretty wet and cold, but it was worth it. I was grateful for a warm shower at the cabin when I got back!!
Can't wait for the next trip!

The "No Doubt Bull"

This is the same bull that I posted pictures of last week. They were taken from a trail camera. He is staying in the same area, coming in in the middle of the night.

I am calling him the "No Doubt Bull" because if I saw him opening morning at first light there would be no doubt about whether to shoot him or not! He is exactly what I am looking for. Decent length, a little character, good mass, and perfectly symmetrical. We are thinking he will probably score around 340 to 350.



There is rumor today that people have started seeing the bulls moving away to start rutting, and they are starting to rub their velvet off. If this is true he might be moving to a different location. This next weekend will tell us alot. We will definitely keep watching for him.
The other bulls we have been watching at Gates lake have apparently all disappeared.



I am going up all this next weekend, so hopefully I can get some more pictures of good bulls



These are some other bulls that seem to be bedding in the same area.



My friend said he had 160 pictures of bulls in this location over the last week. He goes up every weekend to check the pictures. So lets keep are fingers crossed that the No Doubt Bull stays put!!!!

Excuses, Excuses

I guess this is a good excuse to not be scouting!




If you want to see more pictures go here http://www.natalieparkphotography.com/blog/